Efforts to derail immigration reform doomed to fail

Cornyn should help lead bipartisan effort to pass legislation

By Cesar Vargas

Updated 7:31 pm, Thursday, April 25, 2013

Inside the Beltway, immigration is the single-most issue to capture the bipartisan support of a deadlocked Congress.

While the federal budget and the gun control debate each seem to be replete with heated politics, immigration has been a welcome civil debate. Just last week, major components were resolved and the news cycle was filled with leading Democrats and Republicans projecting progress to the American people. But now that legislation has been introduced in the Senate, will Texas Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn stand in the way of immigration reform?

Since 2005, Sen. Cornyn has had a record of defeating reform efforts while portraying himself as a fighter to fix the country's outdated immigration system. At the 2011 Hispanic Leadership Network conference, Cornyn said, "They (Democrats) have controlled Congress for four years, have occupied the White House for two years, and yet they've broken every promise to lead on immigration reform." And last month, while accepting the "Small Business Advocate of the Year" award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Cornyn talked about the need to fix our broken immigration system. And yet, Cornyn in 2010 voted against the DREAM Act - a bill that would provide a path to legal status for certain undocumented students - and recently introduced a "border security only" bill despite the country's overwhelming support for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

Indeed, the "Gang of 8" legislation addresses many, if not all, of Cornyn's demands for border security. Under the proposed legislation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security must create, fund and begin a border security plan within six months. DHS will receive billions of dollars to fund border security enhancements. For interior enforcement, the bill requires U.S. employers to implement E-Verify; government officials will have to set up an exit/entry system to track foreign visitors or workers who overstay their visas. Further, Republican Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake, both from the border state of Arizona, have pressed for heightened security measures in the compromise. There is minimal excuse for Cornyn to join anti-immigrant voices to halt progress.

Cornyn will very likely face a re-election bid in which he will face a challenger from the tea party. As a result, Cornyn has been taking stances further and further to the right. This isn't too dissimilar from what occurred in the 2012 election cycle: After an unpleasant purging of candidates such as the very experienced Sen. Dick Lugar, R-Ind., in favor of the un-electable Richard Mourdock, Republicans took that brand of extremism to the polls and it didn't fare well in November. Cornyn can still win his primary. But he will incur the wrath of Texas Latino voters, whose dissatisfaction with the senator will only continue to grow between now and the general election, if he maintains an obstructionist stance on immigration reform. Many will rethink their alliance with Texas Republicans.

The writing is on the wall that the environment for immigration reform has never been better, nor the conditions more demanding to ramp down the costly enforcement and embrace the young, working demographic that is roughly five times more likely to start their own business. The public interest for comprehensive immigration reform is broad. For instance, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has focused on the benefits to the economy of reforming immigration. Silicon Valley, meanwhile, led by people like Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, is jumping into the mix in support of humane and practical immigration reform.

Unlike previous attempts, Cornyn's effort to doom immigration reform will not have the same potency or success rate. What is on display, however, is the senator's diminishing standing, particularly as a statesman capable of working across the aisle on tough legislative issues. Cornyn can still take advantage of this last chance to prove to Texans a legacy of firmness in leadership to take on immigration reform that includes not only border security but a practical system that unites all families.